31 March 2012

So then, that's two new Alchemy Press anthologies lined up for 2012. There will be a third Alchemy Press book, but this will be a collection of essays -- details to follow. Why this sudden surge in activity? Because if the world does end sometime this year, I hope that whoever, or whatever, follows in the new universe will want something alchemical to read. And if the world doesn't end -- well then, there will be three more good books out there for all you eager readers.

The Alchemy Press is now seeking submissions for its second anthology of the year: The Alchemy Press Book of Ancient Wonders will be edited by Jan Edwards and Jenny Barber. More details can be found here.

30 March 2012

A pair of local yokels decided to save money -- and maybe make a fast buck out of the possible petrol shortage. So that evening they hijacked a tanker that had pulled over into a layby. The hapless driver was left bound and gagged in the hedgerow. Later that same evening the two criminal masterminds decanted the liquid into their cars -- which then failed to start. One of them then looked at the drops trickling out of the tanker's taps and said, "Is petrol supposed to be white?"
(c) Peter Coleborn

27 March 2012

I mentioned an hour or so ago that I'm aiming to announce some new Alchemy Press books for 2012. I'm pleased to say that the submission guidelines for the first, The Alchemy Press Book of Pulp Heroes, to be edited by Mike Chinn, are now available. Click here to read them.

My short story “The Old Manor” appears in Ghostly Reflections, edited by Christopher Nadeau (Infinity Publishing, 2012). This slim book purports to be “an anthology of ‘true’ ghost stories”. So, naturally, it is the ideal home for my tale of ghosts and a haunted manor house.

26 March 2012

Back in 1997 the BFS was offered the opportunity to publish a memoir of the last days of Frank Belknap Long, written by Peter Cannon. Of course, the society snapped up the chance and thus Long Memories: Recollections of Frank Belknap Long appeared later in that year.

This was a slim volume – 68 pages – of possibly too-small print face. But it was a neat-looking chapbook, and did service to Cannon’s moving account. BFS President Ramsey Campbell, who also knew Long personally, supplied the Afterword. If you get the chance, obtain and read this publication; there may even be copies remaining in stock at the BFS – contact the stockholder via the BFS website.

Oh yes, muggings here did all the production work, with assistance for the cover (I didn’t have a decent DTP package back then – it was 15 years ago!).

18 March 2012

Unable to concentrate on writing or editing yesterday, I opened Photoshop and played around with a couple of images. Here's the result:

I then couldn't decide which of the several books currently on the go I should read. So I picked a book off the shelf (not quite at random): a collection of stories by Frank Belknap Long. Here are my thoughts on the title story, "The Hounds of Tindalos". Obviously yesterday was a Mythos sort of day.

I am delighted to report that Jan Edwards -- my better half by far -- has a new story in Alt-Zombie, edited by Peter Mark May. It will be published by Hersham Horror Books in June. Jan's story is called "Midnight Twilight", and is an intriguing take on the undead.

09 March 2012

Hooray! I've finally managed to upload to Amazon the second Alchemy Press eBook. I say "finally" because every time I thought I'd accomplished the task, I noticed something else that required a tweak. Anyway...

Now available from The Alchemy Press: The Paladin Mandates by Mike Chinn. This is a revised edition of a book originally published in 1998. As an added bonus, this new edition features a brand new Damian Paladin story, "There'll be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight".

Mixing generous dollops of The Scorpion, The Shadow and Dominic Fortune, with a fascination for old airplanes, a taste for '30s detective fiction ... enter Damian Paladin, ghost hunter, supernatural sleuth.

07 March 2012

Paul Cornell twisted my arm at the BFS Open Night last week. He walked away with £2.50, leaving me with an odd-shaped chapbook, The Sensible Folly. Faringdon is not far from Oxford and boasts the folly of which Cornell writes about in this publication. The folly is open to visitors – details here – but Paul may not be on hand to personally sign the chapbook.

Follies are not supposed to have any sensible purpose. But if they encourage people to walk up steep hills – for they inevitably are up on hill tops – they have accomplished something positive. And when my broken ankle bones are truly healed, I aim to embark on more countryside treks again.